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The now former sixth grade students of P.S. 118 poured off the bus and through the entrance of Dino Land. Summer was beginning and the uncertainty of junior high was far enough from everyone's minds for the excitement of a beautiful day at the theme park to prevail. With a few exceptions, that is. Two pre-teens had been sniping at one another for the whole bus trip, and as the lines for the most popular rides filled up, their best friends were already losing patience with them.
“Helga, cut it out!” Arnold grumbled, shaking another piece of popcorn out of his hair as the thrower snickered at him.
“Don't look at me, dork-wad. I'm not the only one with a snack around here.”
“You're the only one who shoots spitballs at me, so it's not exactly a lucky guess.”
“Who’s making spitballs? Don't flatter yourself. Like I'd wanna waste my attention on you.” The shorter boy crossed his arms and faced forward again.
Gerald looked wanly at Phoebe behind him. “Are they gonna do this all day? I don't think I can take it.”
Phoebe frowned back at him. “I must say, I agree. Perhaps we can find a way to get a break from their relentless friction.” She spoke quietly but Helga, focused on aiming another kernel at the back of Arnold's head, wasn't listening.
“Why do you gotta always wear that stupid hat? I'm getting tired of looking at it.”
Arnold winced but recovered fast. He lowered his eyelids and grinned slyly. “Funny you should say that. You wear that bow in your hair every day and I hope you don't stop. I like it.” Gerald raised his eyebrows and glanced at Phoebe but neither spoke.
Helga's heart fluttered. What was that look all about? “Pft. What do I care what you think?”
“I wondered the same thing. You sound like Rhonda, critiquing people's accessories.” Helga's fists flexed. The nerve of this boy! And yet . . . he still liked her bow? The one she wore for him, after all this time?
The two boys were now at the front of the line and when the ride attendant opened the gate, Gerald reached back to grab Phoebe’s hand and pulled her, giggling, up onto the platform and into the open seat.
The other two cried their names in unison. “Don’t leave me here with this football head!” But all they could do was watch as the wheel rotated their friends up into the air. The riders in the next seat were at platform level, lifting the safety bar when
Helga shoved past Arnold. “I’m not getting out of line after waiting all that time and I’m not riding with you, Hair Boy. Outta my way.”
“No single riders,” the attendant said flatly.
Helga crossed her arms and sputtered with frustration.
“Quit holding up the works, Helga!” Sid sneered from behind them. Harold impatiently pushed between the clashing blonds and took the open seat, where Sid joined him.
Helga weighed her options in icy silence while the two boys rose into the air and the next carriage was made available. “Fine. Join me, then.” She grabbed Arnold’s elbow and yanked him across the platform.
“Sure, don’t even ask me if I WANT to!”
“Yeah, you really dragged your feet there.” The bar was already being latched into place, so the option for Arnold to bail was off the table. He turned away and fixed his eyes onto a point in the distance, not really seeing it.
“Would you scooch over? You're crowding me!”
“This thing’s three feet wide, where am I supposed to go?”
“I don't know, figure it out!”
“You're the one who dragged me along rather than just find someone else to go with!”
“Ugh, would you two shut it? You’re ruining this for everybody!” Harold whined from the seat just behind and above.
Helga bellowed, “YOU shut it, Pink Boy! Mind your own!” All this without taking her eyes off Arnold’s face or lessening the ire she directed at him. He matched her expression.
“What IS your problem with me anyway, Helga? I know your home life sucks and you take it out on everybody, though it’s no excuse. But I’ve never seen you be as hard on anyone as you are on me! What did I ever do to you?”
“You get under my skin, Hair Boy!” She was on her back foot with this verbal sparring, but he was so close . . .
“That’s all you have to say? YOU get under MY skin, Helga! Maybe you could just try being a little nicer!”
“Maybe you don’t need to be such a football headed geek!” Helga sputtered.
Something in Arnold snapped. “Maybe YOU didn’t need to be so quick about taking back what you said on the roof!” But as soon as it was out of his mouth, which now hung open in shock, Arnold wished he could call those words back, too.
“Wh-w-what?” Helga stammered, gawking at him. The ride brought them around almost a full rotation before either of them spoke again.
“Silence at last!” they heard from Harold and Sid’s carriage. Arnold summoned his courage and started talking quietly.
“Look, after all the FTi business, I gave that moment a lot of thought and there’s a lot over the years that still doesn’t make sense to me. Though maybe some of it does, and it all points to me thinking maybe it would be nice if you l-loved me. And it kind of hurt to think maybe you didn’t want to. There’s a lot I like about spending time with you, especially when you're not pushing me around so much. Do you- did you mean any of what you said? Before you took it all back?” Helga could only nod. He smiled and looked away for a few seconds. “Okay, maybe we could talk about that sometime?”
Helga stared dumbfounded at Arnold, her eyes wide and full of all the unsaid things she’d been keeping from him over the years. He gazed back at her, unsure what to say next, or whether to speak at all. Suddenly, the attendant was next to them, disengaging and raising the safety bar. Their ride was over. Arnold stood, holding his hand out to the stunned girl. She slowly reached out and took it, letting her beloved pull her to her feet. They silently made their way to the exit. Taking a deep breath to steady his voice and slow his hammering heartbeat, Arnold turned to Helga’s blushing face and asked, “maybe we could try a do-over?”
“I could go around again,” she replied, the beginnings of a smile pulling at the sides of her mouth.
From a bench in the shadow of the wheel, Gerald and Phoebe sat, watching them get back in line, hands still clasped together. “Finally! I’ve been wondering when those two were gonna figure it out! If this doesn’t mean they stop fighting and start getting along, I might need to find a new best friend.”
“Oh, I think there will be an improvement on that front,” Phoebe responded. “Just think, the passion with which they argued may now be channeled into affection for one another.”
Gerald’s entire face drooped. He hadn’t considered that outcome. “Aw man, gross! That’s worse!” Phoebe laughed behind her hand. Above them, on the ride’s boarding platform, Helga allowed Arnold to help her step onto the seat’s footrest and smiled as he sat down next to her. He had a feeling he wouldn’t be paying much attention to the view this time either; a more beautiful sight was already right next to him.